US President Donald Trump vowed to unveil plans on Thursday to reopen the world’s top economy, following cautious moves in Europe, claiming that the US had “passed the peak” of the coronavirus crisis despite a record daily death toll.
Since emerging in China late last year, the pandemic has turned the world upside down, forcing half of humanity indoors and catapulting the global economy towards a second Great Depression.
The death toll has topped 136,000 with more than 2.1 million infected, an AFP tally shows – with nearly 2,600 dying in the past 24 hours in the US alone.
But a bullish Trump told reporters his “aggressive strategy” against the virus was working and that “the data suggest that nationwide we have passed the peak on new cases”.
He promised swift “guidelines” on reopening parts of the country, suggesting less-affected states could ease restrictions before May 1, saying: “We’ll be the comeback kids, all of us.”
The pandemic has caused at least 17 million people to lose their jobs in the US and many are becoming increasingly desperate.
Leaders around the world are wrestling with the dilemma of how to return to normal and kick-start their shattered economies without risking a devastating second wave of infections.
In Europe’s top economy, Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel urged “extreme caution” as she announced initial steps to reopen some shops and gradually restart school.
Elsewhere in Europe, Denmark began reopening schools for younger children after a month-long closure and Finland lifted a blockade of Helsinki.
New Zealand could start easing its nationwide lockdown next week, but Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern warned on Thursday it would be far from a return to normal.
However, Britain was expected to extend its lockdown measures later on Thursday and Belgium pushed its stay-at-home order back to May 3.
Even in countries trying to return to a semblance of normality, many citizens voiced fears the virus was not yet beaten.
In Madrid, deliveryman Gean Carlo Minaya said: “I think people should still hold out a little longer because I think it’s going to come back again, not as intensely, but the pandemic is going to come back a little bit.”
UN chief Antonio Guterres said only a “safe and effective vaccine” can return the world to normal, hoping that could be available by year-end.
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation CEO Mark Suzman laid bare the challenge facing humanity to shield itself from the virus in future. “There are seven billion people on the planet. We are going to need to vaccinate nearly everyone. There is no manufacturing capacity to do that.”
Even with a vaccine, the virus is expected to lay waste to the global economy, with the International Monetary Fund warning that $9 trillion could be lost in a second Great Depression.
In the developing world, there are growing fears of a collapse in social order as food becomes scarce – with the situation especially acute in Africa and Latin America.
Laos, which has not logged any new cases since April 13, extended its lockdown until May 3.
Thai authorities have discussed easing restrictions on businesses that were forced to close their doors.
However, in Chonburi province’s Pattaya city, mayor Sonthaya Khunpluem said non-residents or those not working here will be barred from entering the city until the situation returns to normal, reported Bangkok Post.
East Timor on Thursday identified 10 positive Covid-19 cases, more than doubling its tally to 18. There are currently 570 people in quarantine and monitored by the Integrated Crisis Management Centre, its spokeswoman Odete Viegas said in a statement. One person has recovered and no deaths have been reported.
In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, G20 nations of the world’s major economies announced a one-year debt moratorium for the world’s poorest nations.
Despite the gloom, tales of resilience and generosity around the world lifted spirits.
In the central English city of Birmingham, Connie Titchen, aged 106, defied the odds to beat the virus, applauded by medical staff as she left to see her grandchildren.
Also in Britain, Tom Moore, a 99-year-old World War II veteran, has raised almost £12 million ($15 million) for health workers by doing laps of his garden with a walking frame.
“In the last war, it was soldiers in uniform on the front line. This time our armies are the doctors and nurses [in] uniforms. We will survive this,” Moore told British TV earlier this week.